Fintech tikpay pockets $1.6 million pre-Seed spherical to rework transport ticketing

Melbourne fintech tikpay has raised $1.6 million pre-Seed spherical forward of the launch of its pioneering account-based ticketing (ABT) and funds platform.

The spherical was led by AfterWork Ventures and Black Nova VC with participation from Investible, Func Ventures, Metagrove Ventures, and two transport business insiders.

Whereas Sydney commuters have been capable of catch a bus, prepare or ferry utilizing their bank card for the previous few years, Melburnians know effectively the frustration of getting to discover a someplace to prime up their Myki card earlier than they will soar on public transport. tikpay’s resolution hopes to repair that for everybody and supply extra joint and ease of use for each operators and commuters.

Tikpay founder and CEO Michael Walters, a 30-year veteran of the business, stated legacy ticketing methods aren’t solely weighed down by outdated know-how, proprietary {hardware}, and restricted fee choices, they’re complicated, rigid and infrequently interoperable.

“Transport ticketing is historic – filled with friction and previous know-how that daunts travellers and hinders the power of operators to do a lot about it,” he stated.

“Tikpay began with a clear sheet of paper, designing a ticketing and funds platform that can enhance the expertise for travellers and operators alike. Our resolution empowers travellers to seamlessly navigate numerous transport modes and networks, eradicating friction and making transport easy.”

His startup’s cloud-based ABT system receives and manages details about clients and their journey in a back-office account quite than on a bodily card.

That offers travellers the flexibleness to make use of a number of fare media (eg. credit score/debit playing cards, digital wallets, QR codes and extra) when tapping on and off,  in addition to the power to arrange a number of funding sources, be a part of household, employer and different teams, register for concessions, retailer a number of ticketing merchandise, and look at their journey historical past throughout a variety of transport modes, all on the one system.

For operators, it has the potential to just about halve capital prices, and supply a single view of all ticketing and fee exercise, in addition to create new product sorts, and acquire deeper traveller insights.

Investible precept Jayden Basha stated the founding staff, which incorporates chief product officer Belinda Ralston and veteran engineer Simon O’Connor as CTO, blends deep sector expertise with strong business and product acumen to make “a diamond within the tough” of early stage startups.

“Michael, Belinda, and the rising staff behind tikpay are poised to seize this compelling, underserved market in Australia and past,” he stated.